


Fallout

by Mewr11



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-08-20 11:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20227120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mewr11/pseuds/Mewr11
Summary: Two days ago, the champion of the Indigo League made an announcement that shocked the world. A lot can happen from a three-sentence declaration. None of what did was anything Blue could have imagined.





	1. A Call

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Eldritch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14157939) by [TaurusVersant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaurusVersant/pseuds/TaurusVersant). 

> This is set in the same world as TaurusVersant's Eldritch, and if you have any expectations of this being anywhere near as good as that, drop them now. With that disclaimer, some timeline stuff to get you oriented: Fallout occurs roughly five years after Eldritch (ie SuMo), roughly two years after the RGB storyline (Giovanni etc.), and sometime before the GSC/HGSS storyline.
> 
> In addition to the Trainer's Bonds concept from Eldritch, I'm writing under some minor headcanons, namely, if I get something wrong, it's a headcanon. Everything's just so much simpler that way.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

Blue glared daggers at his X-transceiver, willing it silent so that he could eat his dinner in peace.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

Unfortunately, his X-Transceiver did not get the message, and continued to buzz. With an exaggerated sigh, Blue set down his bowl and reached across the table to check it. He didn't know why he felt the need to check the caller ID; he already knew it was Lance. He had known it would be Lance for the past two days, seven hours, and thirty-seven minutes, ever since Red had made his final statement as Indigo League Champion. Blue paused, took a deep breath, and answered.

"Hello, Bl--"

"No." Blue pre-empted Lance's question, the question he had known Lance would ask for the past two days, seven hours, and thirty-seven minutes.

"I'm doing well, Blue, thanks for asking. You didn't even let me get my question out."

"Didn't need to. _Blue, will you go to Mount Silver and convince Red to come down?_ No, Lance, I won't. I wouldn't even if I thought I had a realistic chance of winning, which I don't. You of all people should know my 0-9 record against him, it's the only one worse than yours." His miserable imitation of Lance's voice went unnoticed by the re-throned champion, or, at the very least, unacknowledged.

"Wait, what? That's not what I was going to ask you at all. I was _going_ to ask if you would be willing to lead a re-opened Viridian Gym."

It took Blue a moment to process the words that Lance had just said, and another to actually realize what those words meant.

"Okay, two questions: One, why now? And, more importantly, why me?"

"Well, I'm asking now because Red put no particular effort into finding a replacement for Giovanni while he was champion. As for why I asked you, to put it bluntly, you're the only one qualified. After all, the league tournaments don't have badge requirements, so those went off without a hitch with only seven gyms operating. But to run a gym you need to have eight badges. And it's been seven years since anyone received an Earth Badge."

"Why not Whitney? I mean, she's Johtan, sure, but Indigo spans both regions, and I know for a fact that Falkner is Kantonese."

"If you'd follow the news, you'd know that Whitney took over Goldenrod Gym after Will joined the Elite Four. And don't even think about asking about inter-league transfers; Cynthia'd only approve one for an Elite Four member, and even then, the last one I remember took about a year of daily tooth-pulling. I'm not opening that can of worms."

"What about that chick that was, like, a year or so younger than Red and I? Didn't she get a challenge in against Giovanni before he got arrested?"

"Leaf's in Kalos now. Studying Mega Evolution with her Gengar. Blue, I know you can keep coming up with names for the next hour or so, but do you really think you can come up with somebody I haven't already considered? No offense to you, but I'm pretty sure I keep my fingers on the pulse of the Kanto battle scene a bit more often than you do. Do you really think I'd call somebody who wasn't my best shot first?"

Blue gave a rather forceful exhale before responding. "I'm honored, really, that I'm the first one you thought to call. But I need some time to think about this. I'll call you tomorrow." He flicked off the X-transceiver a bit too forcefully to convince anyone that he was completely calm. But he was _finally_ going to get to eat his dinner. He stopped with his first bite about three inches away from his mouth. Slowly returning his chopsticks to his plate, he reached down to his waist and released a Pidgeot.


	2. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance's time since Red's announcement hasn't been the best of his life. Picking up the pieces of the broken league Red left behind hasn't been easy, but at least one problem has been progressing faster than usual. Come to think of it, its speed maybe shouldn't have been surprising, considering who he'd asked to help fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Imagine that, Mewr11 actually posting a second chapter to a fanfic. Novel concept, I know.

Lance awoke to two new texts from Blue.

_ I know I said I'd call, but this really feels like something we should discuss over lunch _  
_ I'm in Pallet. If you're in Indigo we could meet up at Bistro Jade in Viridian. If you're not, let me know where you are _

Lance checked the time, wondering if he'd slept in. He hadn't; it was 6:00, the same time he always rose. Knitting his brows, he checked the timestamps on Blue's texts. 5:27. _Arceus. And Will complains that _I_ wake up too early._ Well, in any case, Blue wanting to discuss over lunch probably meant he had some inclination to take the job. Or, at least, not complete opposition to the idea. That would hopefully be one issue off of his plate by roughly one in the afternoon today. Not bad.

_ Bistro Jade works. See you at noon. I'll reserve a table._

Thumbing through his X-transceiver, Lance found Bistro Jade.

"Lance. Table for two, noon. Back room, this is for business."

Pausing just long enough to ensure the hostess had gotten the reservation correct, Lance hung up. He checked back through his texts to see if anything else had come up overnight. There really shouldn't have been, it wasn't like he'd been champion long enough at this point to have anybody deciding that he --

Seven messages from Cynthia Shirona.

Of course. The one person in the world that could feasibly be called his boss had something come up overnight. _ Wonderful. Simply wonderful._ The thought of leaving them for after his meeting with Blue crossed his mind, but Lance decided that maybe pissing off the driving force behind the World League was not the best idea. He glanced at the first of the seven.

_ I need your help with a meeting with Leon _

Lance pinched at his brow and groaned. He wouldn't push it off until after lunch, but Arceus did he need coffee before he dealt with this. He was beginning to understand why Red had mostly ignored international shit during his reign as champion. With a sigh, he walked out of the Champion's Apartment and made his way to the League Offices, where the coffee machine would be waiting for him.

* * *

Just under five hours later, Lance made his way to the gardens and released his Charizard. Taking off towards Viridian City, Lance relished the stiff wind rushing through his hair, the freedom of being alone on the breeze, just him and his dragon. None of the _"Leon this, Kukui that, Iris is pissed because she thinks the World League is just stealing the thunder of her Experts Tournament"_ and so on and so on and so on. He'd done this more often earlier in his time as an Elite Four member, but as the pressures of the job had weighed on him, he found himself in his office and on the training grounds more and more. And, well, now that he had taken the job as champion...

The sight of Viridian below shook Lance out of his reverie. He needed to find somewhere to land; while a Charizard in flight shouldn't be alien to the residents, it wasn't like he could just land a dragon on the sidewalks. No, he'd have to find a parking lot, which was far easier said than done in the cycling-centric downtown where he was supposed to meet Blue. He instructed his Charizard to circle above city hall while he racked his brain, trying in vain to remember the last time he had flown in, before giving up and just scanning the ground below. He spotted the bistro first, then located a parking garage four blocks away from it. Four blocks wasn't terrible, especially in Viridian. Lance began his descent.

11:55 read Lance's watch as he arrived at Bistro Jade. _Perfect timing._ Lance had expected to arrive early to his meeting; he always arrived early to everything. What he had not expected was to find Blue already leaning on the door frame. Blue smirked at his surprise.

"What? Surprised to see me here on time?"

"I will admit, once Bruno left, there was a certain lack of punctuality on Indigo Plateau. I believe our friend Red is to blame for that."

"I'm not surprised. Red's complete inability to actually get anywhere in a timely fashion was the only reason I was able to hold the championship for any time at all."

"Then I can see why you value your punctuality. Let's go eat and stop holding up the crowds outside the door."

Bistro Jade was a rather large Kalocois restaurant, furnished with the red oak and dark green cloth so common to Viridian City. The hostess led Lance and Blue away from the cacaphonous dining parlor and into a dimmer, quieter back room that Lance had become familiar with over the years. This had been Red's go-to meeting place during his tenure as champion, and Lance had happily co-opted his preference: It had meant not needing to find another cafe willing and able to provide the privacy requisite for league business.

Reaching the table, Lance indicated to the waitress to bring their soup and leave them be for a while. He took his seat and looked to Blue.

"I take it you've put some thought into the Viridian post?"

"I have. And I have some concerns I wanted to talk to you about, hence our meeting today."

"I figured as much. As I said last night, I know you're not an ideal candidate, but you're what I've got. So what concerns you?"

"Well, first of all, I don't have any sort of type-bias to my team. Water-Flying, Fire, Grass-Psychic, Normal-Flying, Rock-Ground, and Psychic. Nine types with only one - Psychic - repeated. And we already have a Psychic-type gym. I don't think Sabrina would be thrilled to see another Psychic-type 'Master' in the Kanto circuit."

"You apparently haven't spent much time with Sabrina lately, but that's a discussion for another time. Also, you do have two Flying-types as well on your team, although justifying your Rhyperior on a Flying-type gym would be a bit of an ask."

"You don't say."

Lance ignored Blue's interjection and continued. "However, I got an idea from Unova. Striaton City used to have a gym that gave out a 'Trios Badge', a gym based on all three elemental types. As long as you use your gyarados, Arcanine, and Exeggutor in your badge battles, you'd be good to go."

"So instead of stepping on Sabrina's toes, we're going to step on Misty's, Erika's _and_ Blaine's."

"Of course not. The gym leaders aren't nearly as prideful as you seem to think. Well, except maybe Blaine. But if he wants to retire - which he does - he needs a replacement, and if he wants a replacement, he needs an eighth gym. Trust me, if the circuit not accepting you is one of your concerns, you can drop that one right now."

"Okay, sure. We've dealt with my team's typing problem. But my team has another glaring issue: They won the championship. We could give any of your elite four a run for their money, if not you yourself. And you just said I'd use three of my partners - or more - in each badge battle. How is an eleven or thirteen or even eighteen year old going to defeat three hall of famers? If I remember correctly, Brock uses a Geodude and a recently-bred Onix for a first badge, not his Golem and his Aerodactyl. Blaine uses a Ponyta and a Magby. I don't have that. For one, I'm not just terminating any of my bonds. I'm not just letting a friend of thirteen or more years just go. Heck my Pidgeot? I caught her as a Pidgey twenty-one years ago. No way am I letting her go. And even if I had bonds to spare, it's not like I'm Red. Or Brock. I can't just form a new bond at the drop of a hat. I just can't."

"Understandable. I assume box-juggling is not something you are willing to do?"

"Absolutely not. And even still, that doesn't get around the fact that it would take me about a year to form a bond strong enough to battle with a new partner."

"That's fair. Fortunately, thou - Ah, merci, monsieur."

The conversation lulled a while as the waiter sereved the soup and took their main course orders. After a moment's pause spent enjoying the onion soup, Lance resumed.

"Ah, yes, where was I?"

"How we would deal with early-badge challengers."

"Simple. You won't."

"Huh?"

"As I said last night, we have seven years worth of challengers waiting for an eighth badge. The last year we had eight leaders, there were twenty-one challengers. So we've probably got about a hundred and fifty people waiting to battle you. That'll sustain your gym for roughly a year and a half by itself."

"So we're just kicking this can down the road?"

"In a word, yes. More specifically, if we figure out a solution to the first-badge problem, wonderful. You become just another gym leader, doing all levels of badge challenges. If not, I'm almost certain that at least two of those hundred and fifty trainers would be able and willing to take over a gym."

"Wait, two?"

"Yeah, Blaine's ahead of you on the retirement list. He called dibs within five hours of Red's statement."

"I suppose that is fair. He's almost as old as Agatha was when she retired, right?"

"Not quite, but he is getting up there. Throw in the fact that gyms tend to turn over faster than elite fours - I remember Glacia was nearing seventy-five by the time she retired - and he definitely deserves a nice, peaceful retirement. But that is neither here nor there. Do you have any more questions about Viridian Gym?"

"Um, gym trainers?"

"Well, you've got two main options. If you want to go the route of Blaine or Surge and have trainer battle be a part of your badge requirements, then I'll let you recruit from the Victory Road field trainers. At least among those that don't have - or don't stick to - a type bias, Fire-Water-Grass is one of the most common combinations. You could also go the route of Brock or Erika, and only have a battle against you for the badge, and run your gym as a battle club of sorts."

Blue seemed to consider that for a moment. "Hmm. Well, since my badge challenges would be inherently more difficult and harder to prepare for than most, I don't think I need further battles as a requirement for my badges. I'm not sure though, I never really got to know Brock's gym since Red and I got the Badge so quickly, and I definitely didn't get to know Erika, since I did most of my prep work for her gym at KantoLabs."

"Well, you could tour a couple of the gyms before you decide on a final gym setup. But if you want to do that, I've got to know: Are you in on this? Will you take over Viridian Gym?"

Blue had obviously not been prepared to answer that question this early into the meeting. Lance noticed this, but far from relenting and giving Blue time for uncertainty and indecision to settle in, Lance raised an eyebrow.

"I, uh... I - yes. Yes, I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% satisfied with how this turned out, but I felt like I needed to get something published or this project would run the way of most of my other projects, namely, getting discarded without a second though. Anyways, while you're waiting for me to get another chapter written, edited, and published, leave a comment down below (I like knowing that people are actually reading this) and check out this really good work by magicalmayhems https://archiveofourown.org/works/17312693 . I love its exploration of Prof. Oak's character, and while it's not the direction this work is going to go, you should check it out anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided that Blue (and Red, I suppose, they are the same age) is thirty years old. That would put him at twenty-three when he captured his championship, which is fast (in universe) but not Moon or Hau levels of unbelievable. I'm still working out in my mind exactly how the gyms are going to work, but in my mind, one every two years is about the minimum pace for people to recognize you as a dedicated battler; most people hanging around Victory Road are in their mid to late twenties.
> 
> For the interested, here's my headcanon for the progression of the Indigo Elite Four during Red's reign as Champion: Agatha retires, replaced by Karen; Bruno retires, replaced by Koga, who is in turn replaced by Janine; Lance gets promoted, replaced by Will, who is in turn replaced by Whitney. Yes, I know that this leaves an E4 different than GSC/HGSS, but it's my universe now, and there's nothing GameFreak can do about it.


End file.
